Hunter Biden reportedly received a 2.8 carat diamond from a Chinese energy tycoon


Former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, might be cause for concern for his father's presidential campaign, The New Yorker reports.
Hunter Biden has recently fallen under the microscope as details about his business dealings and personal life have come to light. The younger Biden's struggles with drugs and alcohol, divorce and subsequent relationship with his late brother Beau's widow, and questionable business practices in China and Ukraine are chief among the reasons why he could wind up being a thorn in the side of the Biden campaign.
In a sprawling piece, The New Yorker details how Hunter Biden, while on the board of the World Food Program USA, said he was gifted a 2.8 carat diamond by Chinese energy tycoon Ye Jianming, the head of CEFC China energy. Biden said he was trying to secure a large donation from Ye at the time. While he doesn't think the diamond was intended as a bribe as his father was no longer in office, Biden said he still washed his hands of the diamond by giving it to his associates. He said he does not know what they did with it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But during divorce proceedings, Biden's ex-wife, Kathleen, referenced the diamond, implying it was one of Biden's "personal indulgences."
Diamond aside, though, Biden continued working with Ye, negotiating a deal for CEFC to invest $40 million in a liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana. The deal eventually fell through when Ye was detained by Chinese authorities in 2018 in what was reportedly an anti-corruption charge. Biden maintains that Ye was not a "shady character" and chalked up the situation to "bad luck." Read more at The New Yorker.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - free trade, judicial pushback, and more
By The Week US
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
'New firms are created to serve the economy of which they are part'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Did China sabotage British Steel?
Today's Big Question Emergency situation at Scunthorpe blast furnaces could be due to 'neglect', but caution needed, says business secretary
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Taiwan's tricky balancing act
The Explainer The island nation, no longer certain of US backing against a hostile China, is quietly looking for other solutions
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK